12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout | Stone Brewing

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Reviews by damndirtyape:

Single bottle I was lucky to pick up two weeks ago from a local store's cellar clearance. Served in a tumbler.

Appearance: Black and completely opaque beer - no light comes through at all. Dark brown foam that dissipated over 10 minutes leaving no lacing and only some foam at the edges of the glass. Swirling makes the foam only come back for a few seconds.

Smell: It's chocolate all right, but not overpowering nor too subtle. There is an alcohol smell at the end after the chocolate, almost like a chocolate liquor.

Taste: Bittersweet chocolate up front, a hint of malt, then bitter with a subtle alcohol finish. The alcohol is there, you can't miss it, but it's not overpowering. It's an "Ahhhh" type of finish that leaves you licking your lips just a bit. Wait a little bit between sips and the bittersweet chocolate comes back to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel: Lightly carbonated and very very smooth. There is a thickness to this beer, but it glides down the throat nicely.

Drinkability: Something with this strength I can't see having more of by itself in an evening, but splitting the bottle with a friend (in this case the Mrs.) over a nice meal is an outstanding use of this beer. It went very well with a pork BBQ in this case. I enjoyed the whole experience.

Mouthfeel: Silky and creamy due to the oatmeal. The perfect amount of roastiness. Very nice cocoa flavor lingers.

Drinkability: Highly drinkable and feels more like a regular stout than an imperial stout due to the ABV. With some aging, the cocoa will show through once the bitterness subsides. Try to get at least two bottles if you pick this up. I can't wait to see how well it mellows over time. A very worthy purchase.

Pours a deep dark, very little head brew. Thick lacing present for the little carb there. Did I mnetion it was dark.

Sugar sweet malt. Quite strange, like unmalted light malt. Very nice as long as it doesnt taste like unfermented beer! ;). All kidding aside, very orignal smell, I like the direction.

Wow, what a representation of chocolate. I have nothing to compare it to. Not sure I would call it bitter sweet, but if that was the ingredient, I need to buy stock for my homebrewing process. I dont taste dark malt, but there is roasted med malt. Not sure where the color comes from, no biscuit or bitter present.

Sits extremely well considering the ABV. Typically this ABV and sweet will be headache-ville, population 1. The sweetness, come before the malt, and ends with the chocolate. Awesome.

I want more. I only have 1 more from last season. I obviously need to get some more. There isnt 1 thing I can really find wrong with this brew.

Pours an inky black, used motor oil, with a gigantic, dark caramel colored, frothy head. Tons of lacing left along the glass. Smells very roasty, very malty, some cocoa. Taste is more extreme roastiness, some rolled oats, dark unsweetened baking cocoa/chocolate which tends to be pretty bitter is highly distinguishable. Im noticing most of the bitterness coming from the raw chocoalte taste than any type of hops used. Very tasty but their is a certain off flavor in the finish. Kind of metallic, which makes the beer a lot less enjoyable. Mouthfeel is very heavy and oily, good carbonation, dry finish. One of these bombers is definitely enough for me. I would prefer a single 12oz'er actually.

A new Stone offering to savor and appreciate, ahhh, Life is good! This bottle cam straight from Grover himself, thanks G. Pours dark mahogany/near black, dark tan head, initially quite solid then slowly fading to a ringed film and leaves better then average lace.
Nose is the expected chocolate, burnt malt and espresso grains. Full flavor brew (surprise) plenty of coffee grain, dark chocolate, dark grains, yum, stout lovers rejoice...try it mixed with some sort of cherry beer and go nuts...thanks Stone for putting more fine brew on the market and in my hands/belly

Pours black with a brown head. Aroma is sweet roasted malt with a strong bitter chocolate component. The flavor is lots of coffee. Chocolate is present as well with it beginning as a darker almost milk chocolate and ending with a bitter finish. Very creamy thick mouthfeel and medium carbonation. I love stouts that include oatmeal and this is one of the best ones I have had.

Appearance: This pours a deep black, as others have described, with no light getting through. The head was weak though and was gone almost immediately.

Smell: The smell was delicious, sweet, chocolatey, but it weakened when the head disappeared.

Taste: The taste was very reminiscent of the rogue chocolate stout, but perhaps a little sweeter from the oatmeal. Bitter? yes the hops play their role but things seem to be well balanced, a solid stout, very tasty but not mind blowing. I paired this with a hot link with Sweet Baby Rays bbq sauce, what do you boys know about that. Southside Chicago!!! It was damn good.

Mouthfeel: Chewy and delish.

Drinkability: Very drinkable, only reason I wouldn't give this a five is the alcohol.

Pours dark brown with a ring of tan bubbles. Bitter espresso nose with cocoa, anise, granola, and molasses. Lives up to its bitter chocolate oatmeal name. Nice blend with roasted malt and brown sugar/oatmeal cookie flavors. Big, earthy flavor that is very, very bitter for a beer without many hops. Loved it.

22oz bomber silk screened label brown bottle served into a tulip glass.Opaque black with a deep brownish hue,creamy tan/mocha head with fair retention and some spotted lacing.

Roasty with bittersweet chocolate,vanallia with oatmeal sweetness just a slight sweet booziness and a touch of licorace and woody bourbon comes through latter. Some spicy/woodiness. Good complex aroma not overpowering at all.

Bitter chocolate with oatmeal upfront with a woody booziness of bourbon closely behind has some rough edges to it would seem to benifit nicely with some aging. Undertones of dark fruitiness throughout with very sharp crisp bitterness with boozy heat comming through. Leaves a rich roasted coffee/chocolate bitterness lingering with tounge swelling bitter effects. Has a creamy,velveety feel even with the boozy heat. Surprizingly drinkable even with the rough edge. I'd love to cellar this beer a bit, seems like a good beer to age. Worth a try now and even worth more of a try later.

JULY 2008 Vintage- 22oz bottle at about fridge temp poured into a boulevard tulip.

pours out opaque black with about one fingers worth of tan, light mocha colored head that eventually faded to a paper thin retentive layer. some spotty lace and a little bit of legs apparent from a swirl of the glass.

sweet toasted malts, bitter roasted malts are at the forefront. some hints of smokiness and some light cocoa as well.

slightly fruity toasted, roasted malts, a little bit of sweetness and a hint of smoke. some bitter dark cocoa towards the finish.

the lighter side of heavy bodied, carbonation is about right on for the style. maybe expected a little more oiliness from the oatmeal?

although i have had this fresh, i only vaguely remember what it tasted like. it was right when i was starting to get serious with craft beer and right before i began taking notes on what i was drinking. although this stood up to the age very well, a part of me wants to say this was better fresh.

A menacingly thick and black pour with a thin brown, persistent head. Thick and oily in the glass and leaves plenty of lacing. Looks mean and menacing but beautiful.

Roasted malts, caramel malts, and plenty of dark chocolate in the nose. Unlike most stouts that smell of melted, bittersweet chocolate, this chocolate seems roasted or burnt. It's a bit sharp and not easily accessible nor obviously pleasant, but it contributes to this beer's menacing profile. It's certainly unique.

This beer tastes better than it smells. The dark chocolate works better on the palette than it does in the nose, as it loses some of that burnt and astringent profile. No alcohol presence at all, little hop presence, but mainly just a thick, menacing, chocolatey, big stout...which is never a bad thing!

Creamy, thick, chewy in the mouth, which is appropriate and expected for this style, but not quite as velvety and full as the standard Stone RIS.

I think this beer has aged particularly well. There's no obvious presence of alcohol, the chocolate may have mellowed a bit; an enjoyable sipper I'm glad I got the opportunity to experience at the brewery/bistro.

Black black motor oil with a dark brown but low head that doesn't rise up much and settles out quickly.

Low aroma of roasted malt and licorice.

Rich flavor of milk/dark chocolate and espresso upfront, moves to molasses and licorice, some smokey notes. Good bitterness, chocolate becomes more sharp in the finish. No hop flavors. Finishes very roasty and bitter. Bitter chocolate lingers.